Warden!Molly and Warden!Dresden along with choice allies raid a Red Court stronghold in Bogota where one of the Lords of Outer Night is reportedly present.

Set: Whenever. Would be pretty neat to see how the war had resolved itself if it hadn't been for the events in Changes. Besides, I kinda disagree about Molly's talents being useless in combat. Sure, she's sensitive, but if she can get past that, imagine how much it'd suck to try to direct your forces over the noise of her rave spell.

Click to expand...

I've started up on this again in the past week. Denarian!Warden!Dresden, can it work? We'll have to wait and see, as its giving me a fit right now.

-The Howling Commandos team up with some Wardens to break up a joint HYDRA/Kemmler evil plot of some sort. Especially if you include Ebenezar and Phillips grumpy old man-ing at each other or something.

-Post CA: TWS, Steve and Sam hire Harry to help find Bucky.

-Idea similar to Backup: Harry and Murphy finally go on a date. EVERYONE is working behind the scenes to make sure nothing, supernatural or otherwise, screws it up. Naturally, this is when a lot of stuff TRIES to screw with Harry, for one reason or another.

-Harry has to complete his own versions of the labors of Hercules. (my only requirement is that Butters and his polka suit be involved in the Stymphalian Birds)

-In Alcestis, Hercules had to wrestle Thanatos in order to get Alcestis back from the dead. Update that. Murphy wrestles Death/Thanatos to get Harry back. Bonus points for making Death talk like THE MOST ELECTRIFYING MAN IN SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION.

I recently watched an interview with JB where he said that the original plan was to throw Molly's character into what eventually turned out to be Dead Beat. Then he was informed, subtly, that it might be a hard-back book and decided that zombie T-Rex was a must.

I'd like to see a fic that incorporates Molly instead of Butters in DB.

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, the entire universe is composed of only two basic substances: Magic and bullshit.
Mercy to the guilty is treason to the innocent.
ELPHIE LIVES! OZMA LIVES! THE WIZARD LIVES! EVERYONE LIVES BUT US.

Challenge: Harry walks into his first meeting of the Brighter Future Society. Basically, the group who were hanging out at Murphy's in Ghost Story. Only add Harry. Mostly, I'd like to see him interact with Felicia, the White Court vamp, but there are plenty of others it'd be neat to see him talk to.

Click to expand...

"Brighter Future Society, huh," I craned my head back to meet the unsettling pale eyes of the guardsmen, one on either side of the heavily reenforced door, and tipped my hat in respect.

Genuine Einherjar were quite rare outside of Valhalla. Having two meant somebody with connections was in-charge of this place, and I had an unpleasant idea of who that meant it was - Gentleman Johnny Marcone had taken a level up or two since last we spoke face-to-face. He was now known around these parts as Baron Marcone, and he had employed a real honest-to-Odin Valkyrie warrior to his cause close to seven years ago. It only made sense to start adding some more of the deathly troupe to his payroll.

The old, dead spirits-returned-to-flesh met my gaze without any sign of respect or interest in my physical well being. One was watching the little crystalline earring hooked through my left ear, the other my hand where the mark of Lasciel, a Fallen Angel, had burned itself after I first picked up the ancient silver coin she was bound to.

"What can I do to convince you fine gentlemen to move aside and let me in?"

The first Norseman drew his sword and attempted to behead me.

I sighed. So much for just waltzing in and greeting my old friends again.

Stepping back and raising one hand, I uttered a choice ice spell and forced the already cool Chicagoan night to bend to my will, forming a hard bar of chilling air into reality. Structured into roughly the same shape as my old staff, reenforced with my firm intention and a drop or three of the Winter Knight's mantle-magic, it formed an ethereal tool strong enough to deflect Asgardian-enchanted iron.

For those keeping score and shaking the rulebook angrily in the background, yes, the Norse sword should have cut through my enchantment fairly easily because of the Fae magic I had dosed it with.

And normally it would have, had this encounter occurred roughly a year and a half ago. But dying had taught me a lot of things that simply were not possible to grasp while I had been alive the first time, like the limitations imposed by mortality, and I had found explanations and reasoning behind how certain individuals could shape their considerable ego into an all-too-real manifestation by the time I returned to my body for a second-go-round at life. It wasn't a stretch to imagine using my will in such a manner, though I had not had time to practice it until recently, since all human magic stems from the emotions invoked in the caster, behind which is the Wizard's will to live.

Now I just had a broader definition by which to define that will and its possibilities.

And I had trained myself thoroughly while sitting on the island of Demonreach for the past six months. The genius-loci of the same name had initially skulked about observing my efforts, offering the rare thought-speak critique in the form of WARDEN IS CARELESS, or WARDEN SHOULD BE LEARNING DEFENSES, or WARDEN IS NOT ACTING CAPABLE. The usual confidence I had learned to expect from my peers and allies.

But eventually he started prodding my efforts from time to time without truly trying as if testing how strong my will was, and eventually that segued into ensuring I could utilize it correctly. By which I mean he nearly killed me a thousand times over in the course of thirty minutes. Had I lacked any confidence in what I was doing I wouldn't be here now.

Such routine lessons honed my abilities even further to the point that, though it had only been two months ago since really getting into things, I could counteract the force of will behind the Einherjar and the natural affinity of iron to disrupt anything Sidhe-related.

The other Norseman drew his sword and joined the fray as I parried an overhead blow, knocked it aside, and spun to clock the first guy under the chin.

Even as his jaws clacked tight and he stumbled back a step, I had a bare moment to register the gentle hiss of air being displaced in warning before a white-silver blur slammed into my back. I rolled with the motion and drove my will-staff down hard into the ground, letting it serve as a foundation to flip around with and come up on my feet facing the opposite direction.

Whoever it was adjusted just as quickly and leaped upright. I spun with the staff and shook out my shield bracelet, spitting out "Defendarius!" before I could be tackled again, and caught the White Court vampire across the front of it while the Einherjar attempted to maneuver into a good position to hack into me without cutting her to shreds first.

The crack of a gunshot came just after I felt an iron slug ricochet off my shoulder. My head slammed forward against the shield as I was spun around, and I lost my focus for a beat, both staff and shield wavering, allowing the vampire to grip me by the front of my duster and throw me fifty feet into the air.

Another crack echoed around the wind whistling in my ears. I somehow tucked my limbs in close and ducked my head into my chest just after launch, getting my spell-enchanted, bullet-proof duster in between me and the hot round. "Ow, and ow. This could be going better."

Tapping the mantle further, I could feel the predatory instincts building up, warring at my mind to unleash a hailstorm of pyrofuego against the pitiful insects below, the insignificant mortal worms who dared assault the Winter Knight.

Instead, I turned that malice toward masking my presence from the marks-woman, spitting out "Obscurata!" and immediately afterward "Veni che!" to slow my abrupt descent toward the pavement, turning my bone-breaking landing into a rough and tumble roll that still hurt.

Two more rounds found themselves dashing apart across my duster, right against my lower back, as I stayed low rather than pop upright to my full six and a half frame. I stifled a grunt of painful frustration, staying low, and cast another, fuller shield using that self-same emotion for fuel.

===

~1000 words.

Part A, hah, you expected a full Challenge? Or did you wisely recall my tendency for snippet-parts instead? Either way this discards Skin Game by-and-by.

1. Dresden Files/RWBY crossover. Really, it would be more than enough lulz to see Dresden freak at a girl with silver eyes, considering the White Court, and then at the reveal of the scythe. I'm sure the grimm could be worked into Dresden Lore, or vice versa.

The two of them could actually be quite a lot of fun if they were to hang out.

2. Dresden Files/Veronica Mars crossover. Dresden's forced to go under cover as a substitute teacher when he suspects a skavis vampire or another random baddie at Neptune High. Mostly to get two snarky detectives kicking ass together.

Thought that's been bouncing around in my head since reading Skin Game:

With a Sword to Nicodemus' throat, and his coin on the ground, Karrin Murphy makes a different decision to save Harry Dresden; she tries to sweep the Coin of Anduriel away from Nicodemus. But Anduriel has his own ideas, and for the first time in millennia, the Fallen Angel has a new host: Karrin Murphy.

"Breaking into writing... is mostly about being stubborn enough to keep your butt in the damn chair and keep working."

Hmm... I suppose it wouldn't be too hard for Nicodemus to get another coin. If he hasn't got one to spare, I'm guessing he'd kill Ascher for hers. That'd actually be pretty cool. Nicodemus with a whole bunch of new tricks and powers, courtesy of Lasciel.

Okay, help me out. It's been a little while since I wrote a fic, and I need to clear my writer's block on another project, and I find working on one helps the other.

Now, Peace Talks and Mirror, Mirror are coming next, which means Harry actually traveling in time, which I am fucking aching to witness, is a couple years off yet.

OR IS IT?

I want to write a Dresden time-travel fic. Yeah, I know, I kind of already did, but it was more like an extended chapter in a larger work. I want to do a one-shot, and I want you fine folks to tell me what to do.

When should Dresden go, and when should he come from?

Should he be the traveler at all?

What's broken and needs to be fixed?

Any and/or all suggestions welcome. I will accept and/or ignore them at my discretion.

"Breaking into writing... is mostly about being stubborn enough to keep your butt in the damn chair and keep working."

How about, due to some contrivance involving the working against Demonreach, Maeve was flung back in time to when Ebenezer McCoy was young and makes the best of it by trying to eliminate Dresden before even his mother is born.

Thus, we have the story about how/why McCoy got on to the shortlist of candidates to become the Blackstaff when the previous one retired.

Okay, help me out. It's been a little while since I wrote a fic, and I need to clear my writer's block on another project, and I find working on one helps the other.

Now, Peace Talks and Mirror, Mirror are coming next, which means Harry actually traveling in time, which I am fucking aching to witness, is a couple years off yet.

OR IS IT?

I want to write a Dresden time-travel fic. Yeah, I know, I kind of already did, but it was more like an extended chapter in a larger work. I want to do a one-shot, and I want you fine folks to tell me what to do.

When should Dresden go, and when should he come from?

Should he be the traveler at all?

What's broken and needs to be fixed?

Any and/or all suggestions welcome. I will accept and/or ignore them at my discretion.

Click to expand...

I guess we might as well make a list of all the fuck-ups Dresden might want to fix.

Can't think of any others, but I'm sure they're there. As I said in the Hp time-travel thread, it won't be Dresden if him solving issues, saving people, doesn't land him (and the world) in even more trouble.

How's this, Little Chicago? The following idea is based loosely on a theory I heard once about a certain character, so if anyone recognizes it as yours, credit to you.

The world has gotten so dark. Harry gave into the mantle of the Winter Knight and become the monster he always feared he would be. He managed to pull himself back from the brink and even free himself from his obligation to Mab, but the damage was done, either by his absence, or worse--by his own hand.

The White Council was disbanded. The schism between the Christos block and the hardliners continued to get worse. After the Merlin was assassinated, the White Council actually had a brief civil war. Other supernatural powers intervened, looking to finish off the wizards. The last stand of the remnant Senior Council was said to be fantastic, but in the end they too were finished off, though Ebenezer McCoy's death curse was said to be the most disruptive explosion the earth had seen since Krakatoa. There are still a few remaining Wardens like Ramirez, but they live a life on the run.

Most of Chicago is dead due to a different supernatural showdown. With it died Karrin, the Alphas, the Carpenters, and Maggie. Marcone, in his magically fortified bunker, survived to become the king of the ashes. Thomas was still alive, but this was no blessing: he has given in fully to his demon after accidentally killing Justine, and now is fully committed to his role as number two in the White Court.

To cap this all off, the Black Council has finally succeeded. The Outer Gates have been opened, and the Nevernever has fallen to the Outsiders. As they begin to make their first incursions into the real world, Harry knows that there is little else he can do to save Reality now. What's worse, he doesn't even have the motivation to save this empty world.

It was different once. He had people worth living for, worth fighting for. A time when it was not too late to save Existence, if only he had the power to do so. Harry dons a cowled cloak so that no one in the past will recognize him, and with the aid of his old apprentice, the former Winter Lady, he goes back to set things right. He's much more cynical and jaded, and darker too, but he knows what he has to do.

Harry Dresden, the Wizard, is powerless to save the world. He needs to become Harry Dresden, the God.